Welcome!
A while back, I got an idea for a book.
I wrote a chunk of it and sent it out to a bunch of agents.
Only one has responded so far (a couple of months after the sending). She said some nice, near glowing things about it, but also said that she was sure she couldn’t sell it.
So, I’ve decided to Substack it.
Now, you may wonder…why? Why not just approach some Catholic publishers? Surely one of them might be interested?
I’m not so sure if that is true anymore, really. I won’t assume anything.
More to the point, I’m 64 now - perhaps 65 by the time you read this - and you look at this whole publishing game a little differently at this age.
I have little interest in spending a year begging a publisher to take a look at this work, haggling with them over content, listening to them tell me that it’s nice I want to write about this but shouldn’t I think about writing about that instead? - and then waiting another year (or longer) to see it in print.
And then waiting a couple of years for royalties to hit.
What would I be? Close to 70 at that point? Nah. Not for this.
I have other ideas percolating, of course. I’d thought that The Saint Around the Corner might be a relatively quick entry into a publishing landscape in which the kind of work I want to do for the next few years is valued and encouraged, giving me space to work on other projects with editorial support, but that’s not the vibe I’m feeling, and so it seems is if I’ll have to approach it differently: Put The Saint Around the Corner up here on Substack, the act of which will make space, in a different way, for different work.
And yes, you have to pay
I’ve written online for decades, and never charged for any of it, with no regrets.
But this is different: it’s a book that I had hoped to get published and therefore, receive royalties for. Doesn’t look like that’s happening….but it also seems a little nuts for me to just offer it up for free.
So while I will continue to blog at Charlotte was Both regularly at no cost, of course, there will be very little free material here other than the introductory post.
Perks
The tiers should be self-explanatory.
The free tier will get the introduction and perhaps a post a month. On something - not The Saint Around the Corner, though. Maybe a bite of a fiction piece I’m working on.
The monthly tier will receive regular chapters of The Saint Around the Corner twice a month as well as once-a-month chapters of a novel I wrote several years ago, had agent representation for, but never succeeded in getting published, Nothing Else Occurs to Me.
In addition, I’m going to record audio versions of The Saint Around the Corner.
The founding, or “Traveling Companion” tier, will receive all of those exciting perks plus a (print) copy of The Loyola Kids Book of Seasons, Feasts and Celebrations. While supplies last! Which should be a while - I was gifted with a slew of copies from the publisher that are presently just sitting around, I don’t do many speaking engagements any more, so you can have them!
Once those run out…I’ll come up with something else.
So no perks about “community” or “group chats” or any of those things Substack tells us are necessary for engagement and audience-building. Who has time? Don’t you people already have friends? Anyway….
It’s fine.
Hurry up and wait
Publication will begin on June 9 with a free post - the Introduction to The Saint Around The Corner.
We’ll let the excitement build and the pledges pour in, then:
On July 1, I’ll begin publishing The Saint Around The Corner, proceeding twice a month from that point on. A chapter of Nothing Else Occurs to Me will also appear in July. With, as I said, audio versions of all chapters of The Saint Around the Corner.
I’m announcing this early to, well, force myself to do it.
No money shall cross hands before that, but you can pledge, if you like.
The way it works (I think) is that you can pledge a subscription, but it doesn’t activate until I turn on paid subscriptions - which will be July 1. If you want to subscribe at the free level, please do - please do - and then if you like that first post and want to continue, you can easily raise the level.
